Apparatus for the delivery of mail-bags to moving trains.



. J. B. DRISGOLL. APPARATUS FOR THE DELIVERY OF MAIL BAGS T0 MOVINGTRAINS.

APPLICATION IILED NOV. 30, 1908. 934,295. Patented Sept. 14,1909. l9gym/l5 25 %SHE5ETS-SHBBT 1.

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J. B. DRISOOLL. APPARATUS FOR THE DELIVERY OF MAIL BAGS T0 MOVINGTRAINS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30, 1908.

Patented Sept. 14, 1909.

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JOSEPH B. DRISGOLL, 0F CLIFTON FORGE, VIRGINIA.

APPARATUS FOR TI-IE DELIVERY OF MAIL-BAGS TO MOVING TRAINS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 14, 1909.

Application filed. November 30, 1908. Serial No. 465,097.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrrr B. DRisooLL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Clifton Forge, in the county of Alleghany and State ofVirginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatusfor the Delivery of Mail-Bags to Moving Trains, of which the followingis a speciz'ication.

This invention relates to improvements in an apparatus for the deliveryof mail bags to moving trains, one of the objects thereof, being toprovide a device of this character, which will be automatically throwninto operative position by means of an attachment placed upon the mailcar or engine tender whereby the device will not assume its operativeposition until the engine has passed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of this class,which after being automatically thrown into and held in operativeposition, will, after the removal of the mail bag, be automaticallyforced back into its normal position and therefore ontirel out of dangerof being struck by any of the passing cars.

lleretofoi'e most of the mail cranes and devices of like nature, havebeen objectionable on account of their being complicated in design andof not providing automatic means whereby the bag holding frame is thrownout of its operative position at the instant that the mail pouch isremoved therefrom. However in my invention I have provided automaticmeans whereby the bag or pouch holding frame is thrown into operativeposition just an instant before the arrival of the bag receiving armwhich is attached to the mail car, and instantly upon the removal of thepouch, means will be antomatically released which will force the abovenamed frame out of operative position and thus out of danger.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, with reference to the accompanying drawingswherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is the sameas Fig. 1 showing the front of the pivoted platform depressed and themail bag in position. Fig. 3 is a detail. view of the movable frame inan ex tended position. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view. Fig. 5 is adetail view of one-of the bag holding clips. Fig. 6 is a detail view ofa portion of the upright standard.

Throughout the different views v like numerals of reference indicatelike parts.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 5 designates a suitable baseadapted to lie adjacent to the track of a railroad, this base beingprovided with an upright post or support, 6, detachably secured at ornear the rear of the base 5. Two hollow cylindrical bearings, 7 ands,are secured to the said post, the bearing 7 disposed above 8, andsuitably spaced therefrom and in vertical alinement therewith. These twobearings extend through the post 5 and are adapted to receive the rods 9and 10, which are rigidly connected at their rear ends by means of a bar11, and together constitute abag supporting frame.

Spiral or coil springs 12 and 13 carried by the rods 9 and 10,respectively, and having their rear ends bearing against the front faceof connecting bar 11 and their forward ends against the rear face of thestandard (3, serve to press the bag supporting frame normally inward andthus retract it from delivery position to withdrawn position. The

rod 10, is adapted to serve as one of the. mail bag holding arms whilethe arm 14 located above the rod 10, 1n alinement therewith serves asthe other holding arm. Arm 14 is pivotally connected to the bar 11, asat 15, and is normally held parallel to the rods 9 and 10 by means ofthe spring 16, surrounding the upwardly extending rod 17 and adapted topress against the arm 14; the said arm 14 being provided with anaperture through which the rod 17 passes, whereby the said rod will beguided in its vertical movement, and limited in upward movement bysuitable means, such as a wing nut 18, detachably and adjustably securedto the upper end of the rod 17. Each of the arms 10 and 14 is flattenedadjacent to its free end, as at 19, the extreme end of the arm 10 beingbent upwardly at right angles to form the tang or lip 21, while theextreme end of the arm 14 is bent downwardly at a like angle to form thelip 21.

On the upper face of the flattened portion 19 of the bar 10 and on theunder face of the like portion of the bar 14 catches 22 and 22'respectively, are secured by means of the rods 23 and 23, each carryinga helical spring 25. Said catches are deflected at their outer ends toprovide a space between them and the ends 19 of the arms 10 and 14. Therod 23 is arranged to pass freely through the arm 10 and be rigidlysecured to the catch 22, while the rod 23 is arranged to pass freelythrough the catch 22 and be secured to the arm'l4. These parts form theclip elements 24 A link 24 provided with an eye 25 at its upper end,through which the arm 14 passes, connects the said arm 14 with the trip26. The lower portion of this connecting link 24 is bifurcated, (notshown) whereby the arms of the link may pass downwardly on each side ofthe cylindrical bearing 7 through the' guide bolts 27, which arefastened to the post 6, the lower ends of the bifurcated portion beingsecured to one end ofthe latch 26, which, in turn passes through and ispiv oted within an aperture 29 formed in the post 6! It will be notedthat the rear end of the trip 26 terminates in an enlarged portion 28,provided with the beveled faces 29 Pivotally' secured adjacent to thelower end of the post or standard 6 is the platform 30, the-point ofpivot 31 being nearer to the front of the platform than tothe rearthereof, thus causing the rear end of the said platform to lie in alower horizontal plane than does the front end, whereby the platformassumes the position shown in Fig. 1 as when it is-not' in use. i

A pair of lever rods 32 are secured adj acent to the' rear end of theplatform, as at 33, and are spaced apart a suflicient distanceto-perinit the rodsto 'passone on each side of the post 6. Theupper'ends of these two levers areconnect'ed by a pin 34 which also connectsthe lower ends of a pair of bell crank'levers 35, which in turn arepivotally secured, as at 36, to'the post brackets 37. The upper e'ndsofthe bell cranklevers 35 converge" slightly and are connectedrespectively to links 38 integrally connected at one end, while the freeends 40 pass through slots 4l-formed in the standard-6.

5 The free' ends 40 of the links 88 pass through the 'slots 41 and arepivotally connected to a' rectangular collar 42' which is loosely fittedto slide upon the rod 43. The pivotal connection "between the end of thelink and the collar permitthe outer ends of said link to follow themovement the levers 3'5; 'This ro'd 43 is rigidly connected to the bar11, while the other end thereof has abea'ring 44 in the post 6 throughwhich the bar is'ad-apted to slide. A rectangular sleet/e 45 is alsoslidably mounted on the rod 43, the under face of said sleeve having anaperture '46,'for"the reception of a spring catch 47whenev erthis'sleeve is forced a. certain distance rearwardly upon the rod 43.The catch 47 islocated'within acut away portion 48 on the under 'face'ofthe rod 43 and is secured thereto as at 49. The free 7 end of this catchis engaged by the trigger 50 one end of the said trigger projectingupward through a slot 51 formed in the rod 43. The said sliding sleeveprovided with a longitudinal slot 52 adapted to fit about said triggerso as not to interfere with the function thereof, which will bedescribed here after.

Lugs or ears 53 are secured to the sides of the sleeve 45 and areadapted to be connected with belts, chains or other flexible means 54which pass over pulleys 56, journaled in apertures 55, thence down thefront of the post 6, connecting at the lower end thereof, with a heavycoil spring 57, the lower end of the spring being rigidly secured to thebase or support 5.

58 is a stop rod pivoted at its rear end to the bar 11. The forward endof this rod normally rests in recess 59, which opens into the opening(30 which extends through the post 6. Located just below this stop rod58 is the bifurcated head 61, of a lever rod 62, which extendsdownwardly the length of the post 6, the lower end thereof connectingwith a bell crank lever 63, the opposite end of this lever beingpivotally secured to the operating bar 64, which extends along the frame5, passing through the guideloops 65, and terminating in an upwardlybent portion (36. A coil spring (5'7 iscarried by this bar 64, one endthereof bearing against one of the guide loops 65, while the oppositeend comes in contact with the upwardly bent portion, A curved shoe, 68is secured to the outer end of this bar 64, and is adapted to projectbeyond the frame 5 and lie in close proximity to the car tracks.

The mail car or engine tender (not shown) has a downwardly extendingfoot (shown in dotted lines, Fig. l) secured thereto which is arrangedso that it will come in contact with the shoe G8.

From the foregoing description the operation of my device will be seento be as followsfWhen it is desired to deliver a mail bag or otherpackage to a moving train, the front end of the platform is stepped uponby the operator. The operator then pulls the rod 14- downward againstthe tension of the spring 16, secures the ring on one end of the bag tothe clip 24 and then secures the ring on the other end of the bag in theclip 24 carried by the rod 10. On releasing the rod 14, it instantlymoves upward under the action of spring 16, whereby the bag is stretchedto its full length and held taut in its extended position. "Theconnecting link 24, which is loosely connected to the arm 14, andwhichhasfree vertical movement, but is prevented from lateral movementby meansof the guide loops 27, will be pressed downwardly by thedownward movement of the arm 14.

The trip 26 which is pivotally connected to the link 24 will be operatedby the downward movement of the link 2d, the enlarged end 28 of thetrip, being raised, while the rear end will be depressed.

The added weight of the operator to the front end of the platform willcause the depression of this end until it comes in engagement with anysuitable stop 69, which relieves that part of the apparatus fromunderstrain. It will be seen that as the rear end of the platform isforced upward, by the added weight on the front end thereof, the leverswill be thrown forward thus operating the bell crank levers 35.Theselevers 35, it will be remembered are connected to the links 38which upon being forced rearwardly on the rod 43, will carry the :ollar4:4: before it. he sliding sleeve t?) which is mounted on the rod 43, inback of the collar 41, will be forced rearwardly until the aperture inthe under face thereof, reaches a point opposite the catch t7, whichwill immediately spring to engagement therein, whereby the sleeve islocked against movement. It will thus be seen that the device is nowwhat might be termed, set.

Further it will be seen that the coil spring 57 one end of which issecured to the flexible belting 54:, is under tension, by reason of thefact that the sleeve 45 to which the belting is attached is in itslocked position. As soon as the foot carried by the mail car, comes incontact with the shoe 68, the bar 64 will be pressed rearwirdly thusoperating the bell crank lever 63, which in turn elevates the lever rod62. The bifurcated head 61 of the said rod, will come into engagementwith the stop rod 58, which will be raised free of the recess and inalinement with opening 60.

Upon the stop rod 58 reaching this position the spring 57 will contractthus drawing the belting 5 1 downwardly, which in turn, will pull theentire frame 9, 10, 11 and 14L forward into delivering position.

Upon the removal of the mail pouch from the clip elements 2- 1 by thecatcher arm (which is secured to the mail car, but which is not shown inthe drawing), the arm 14 will be forced back into normal position by thespring 16.

The link 24- will of course be drawn upward, whereby the enlarged headof the trip will be dropped downward on top of the trigger 50 (see Fig.3) which will force the spring catch 47 upwardly out of engagement withsleeve 415.

The coil springs 12 and 18 which were compressed by the forward movementof the bar 11 will now expand, thus throwing the said bar which carriesthe bag holding arms 10 and 14 back to its normal position andconsequently out of danger of being struck by any of the remaining carsor projections thereof.

. cable horizontally to delivery \Vhat I claim is- 1. In an apparatusfor the delivery of mail bags to moving trains; a stationary support, abag supporting device reciproposition, secured to said stationarysupport; means normally retracting said member to withdrawn position andmeans under control of the moving car for projecting said bag supportingdevice toward the moving car and into delivery position.

2. In an apparatus for the delivery of mail bags to moving trains; astationary support, a bag supporting device reciprocable horizontally todelivery position, secured to said stationary support, means normallyretracting said device to withdrawn position, and means under control ofthe moving car for projecting it toward the moving car and into deliveryposition, said means comprising a projecting power, a stop normallyresisting said projecting power, and a connection through which saidstop is displaced by the moving car.

8. In an apparatus for the delivery of mail bags to moving trains, astationary support, a bag supporting device reciprocable horizontally todelivery position, means normally retracting said member to withdrawnposition, means under control of the moving car for projecting it towardsaid car and into delivery position, said means comprising a projectingpower and a releasable connection between said projecting power and thebag supporting device.

4. In an apparatus for the delivery of mail bags to moving trains, a bagsupporting device movable to delivery position, means normallyretracting said member to withdrawn position, means under control of themoving car for projecting it into delivery position comprising aprojecting power, and a releasable connection between said projectingpower and the bag supporting device, and means controlled by thepresence of the mail bag for releasing said connection.

5. In an apparatus for the delivery of mail bags to moving trains, a bagsupporting device reciprocable to delivery position, means normallyretracting said member to withdrawn position, means under control of themoving car for projecting it into clelivery position comprising aprojecting power, a releasable connection between said projecting powerand the bag supporting device, and a setting lever adapted to move saidreleasable connection into engagement with the bag supporting devicewhile the latter is in its withdrawn position, and thereby tension theprojecting power.

6. In a mail bag delivery apparatus, the combination of a bag supportingdevice reciprocable to delivery position and having means tending towithdraw it therefrom, a

projecting power having a releasable connection with the bag supportingdevice and adapted to project the latter when said connection is made, astop resisting the movement of the supporting device to deliveryposition and a connection adapted to be controlled by a moving vehiclefor withdrawing said stop to permit the supporting device to beprojected into delivery position.

7. In a mail bag delivery apparatus, the combination of a bag supportingdevice mov able to delivery position and having means tending towithdraw it therefrom, a projecting power having a releasable connectionwith the bag supporting device and adapted to project the latter whensaid connection is made, a stop resisting the movement of the supportingdevice to delivery position and a connection adapted to be controlled bya moving vehicle for withdrawing said stop to permit the supportingdevice to be projected into delivery position, said supporting devicebeing provided with a part under control of the bag, constructed torelease the connection of the projecting power upon the removal of thebag, to permit the bag supporting device to be returned to withdrawnposition.

8. In an apparatus for the delivery of mail bags to moving trains, a bagsupporting device having arms between which the bag is suspended, saidarms being slidable to delivery position, means normally retracting saiddevice to withdrawn position, comprising resilient means acting uponsaid supporting device in the direction of its retraction and adapted tobe compressed by the projecting of said device into delivery position,and releasable means retaining the bag supporting device in deliveryposition.

9. In an apparatus for the delivery of mail bags to moving trains, a bagsupporting device, having arms between which the bag is suspended, saidarms being movable endwise to delivery position, means normallyretracting said device to withdrawn position, comprising a plurality ofsprings respectively acting upon said supporting device adjacent itsarms and in the direction of its retraction, and adapted to becompressed by the projecting of said device into delivery position andreleasable means retaining the bag supporting device in deliveryposition.

10. In a mail bag delivery apparatus, a bag supporting device movable todelivery position, means normally retracting said member to withdrawnposition, means under control of the moving car for projecting it intodelivery position comprising a projecting power, and a releasableconnection said connection comprising a collar, slidably secured to thesupporting device, and connected with the projecting power, a catchsecured to the movable device and means for forcing said collar intoengagement with said catch, whereby the collar will be locked to themovable device. 7

'11. In an apparatus for the delivery of mail bags, to a moving train, abag support.- ing device, arms between which the mail bag is suspended,secured to said. device, the portion adjacent to the outer end of thesaid arms being flattened, an angular lip secured to the extreme end ofsaid arms, catches resiliently secured to the flattened portionsthereof, the outer ends of said catches being deflected whereby a spacefor the reception of the loop of the mail bag will be formed between thecatches and the said lip.

12. In a mail bag delivery apparatus, a support, a bag supporting framemovable into delivery position, secured thereto, a

platform pivotally connected to the said support, connecting meansbetween said platform and frame, for setting the said frame.

13. In a mail bag delivery apparatus, a bag supporting frame having armsextending therefrom, one of said arms being yieldably secured thereto,and adapted to be depressed by the weight of the mail bag, which issecured thereto, means normally retracting said frame to withdrawnposition, means under control of the moving car for projecting the frameinto delivery position comprising a projecting power, and a releasableconnection between said projecting power and the bag supporting frame, asetting lever adapted to move said releasable connection into engagementwith the bag supporting frame, while the latter is in its withdrawnposition, and means for releasing said connection with thebag-supporting frame, comprising a pivoted trip secured to the standard,and means connecting said trip with the yieldable arm, and causing thetrip to disengage the releasable connection from the bag supportingframe, upon the removal of the mail bag from the supporting frame.

The foregoing specification signed at Clifton Forge, Va, this 24 day ofOct, 1908.

J. B. DRISCOLL.

In presence of Rrvns R. JONES, HARRY H. POWELL.

